Thursday, March 12, 2009
My Grey BFF Explains Facebook
OK, I’m on Facebook, I have 8 friends of whom 80% are blood related to me. My granddaughter has, oh, over 300.
I joined at the urging of younger family, younger associates.
None of my contemporaries are on there. Well, correction, one is. I don’t particularly like her. Well, truth is I also don’t particularly recognise her. She is my age but has had a lot of scalpel adjustments so that every time I look at her I wonder who she is and then remember. Her hair extensions extend, oh lots, to add to my confusion. And her bikini as she sits on her Harley Davidson does not flatter her. Well, she must think it does, right? And that’s all that matters. I dropped her as a F2F friend for I found it challenging to be around her as she is always accompanied by a different cast member from a posse of young men from the third world with limited English that she likes to import for the summer season and coo at. They are young enough to be her grandsons. When she asked me to be her Facebook friend, I agreed. I’m stupid that way.
(You can see now why I like to remain anonymous on this blog, right?)
I heard a show on CBC radio the other day about this guy who tried to have a party for his Facebook friends, rented out a bar and everything. 250 were invited. And only one showed up, a friend of a friend that he didn’t know at all but had added her to his ‘friends’ because his buddy worked with her. His conclusion was that people are engaging in real time less and less with each other. Hence the spawn of Facebook: Twitter.
I can go on line and see my granddaughter goofing around with her friends and posting all sorts of hip stuff on her ‘wall’. (BTW, is ‘hip’ a word anymore?). When I do this I feel like I’m stalking her.
The thing is, there is no one of my own age, or even remotely near it to stalk. Apart from the aforementioned Diana. Who has 75 friends. Mostly offshore. And who must feel sorry for me, with my 8.
Facebook does my head in. Seriously.
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Welcome to the world of meaningless, random and fatuous social exchange lol.
ReplyDeleteI'm on Facebook too, with some trepidation. I don't know many of the people I am friends with. As a matter of fact, sometimes I have to check and see who I am friends with.
ReplyDeleteI don't go there very often. Once in a while the mood really strikes me and I get busy, but then I let it slide again.
It's flattering when someone wants to be your friend, but pretty meaningless too. I doesn't add anything of value to your life. I don't think deep life long friendships are formed there. I have those kinds of relationships with people I already knew from other places.
Hi WWW
ReplyDeleteI'm learning Photoshop - NOW I get it. However I already have ten actual friends and that's about nine too many.
xxx
Pants
I got Mugbook at the urging of my kids. I've told them that I find it boring and will be taking it down.
ReplyDeleteHell blogger is narcisstic enough
Hi WWW, yeah, I'm on facebook too so I can "stalk" my sons who live on the other side of the continent. But they must be on facebook for some similar reason, they don't do much there. They do manage to have way more 'friends' to stalk than I though. Facebook makes a farce out of 'friends', I think I have only 2 real-life friends there, and I'm pretty sure they're only there to stalk their kids.
ReplyDeleteHappy stalking!
Kind of in sync again, WWW.
ReplyDeleteI'm not on Facebook - it took me until 2006 to get onto blogger, so I'm a bit of a slow starter where social networking is concerned.
I was at a loose end earlier this morning and wandered over to Twitter, joined, looked vaguely around and thought - HUH???
What's the point? Checked two or three Titterers I'm aware of and the stuff there is what I've already read on their blogs.
I haven't "followed" anybody or tweeted myself - I'm but an amazed onlooker.
I see there are many "celebrities" there, but am very cynical about whether they are tweeting or whether it's the job of one of their staff members.
Maybe I'll get Himself to join, then we can tweet to one another, and feel part of this new civilisation. :-D
@Hull:
ReplyDeleteI'd say I've been 'on it' for a year or so now, though nothing much has changed!!
@Irene:
I rarely check it, unless I'm stalking ;^)
@GFB:
We're not restricted to a wall on Blogger, ha!
@Anne:
None of my real life friends are on there, lucky you!!
@T:
Yeah, I did join Twitter and looked around the once and thought like you, a big HUH? As if blogs weren't narcissistic enough for us?!
XO
WWW
www - what a coincidence - I am a Facebook fan but have just drawn the line at Twitter over at SBD. Although it's eBay that REALLY does my head in!
ReplyDeletefriend me! i use facebook constantly. the more "friends" (think of "contacts" rather than actual bosom buddies) you have, the more useful it is and the more it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteOh Jenny:
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on Ebay - luvs it.
And Amazon and Abebooks.....
XO
WWW
Laurie:
ReplyDeleteI'll think about expanding it, but like I said, my contempories don't use it and Facebook are receiving a lot of bad press recently.
I know my daughter loves it and I do like the groups that are created. One for the recent funeral which was full of tributes.
XO
WWW
I joined Facebook a few years ago for the same reason as most of my contemporaries - to keep in touch with my son and step-daughters. But now I'm a dedicated Tweeter and I love it. It's like being part of a cosmic dialogue. At first you listen in on all sorts of people, then you weed out the gormless chatterers, and then you begin to take part. It's a hoot. Join me - www.twitter.com/chasaveen.
ReplyDeleteHere's a funny Facebook story: my ex-husband was/is on Facebook, and is listed as one of my Facebook Friends (he was a friend in real-life too). He died suddenly last September. He's still on Facebook. Recently he sent me a request to state my family affiliation with him.
ReplyDeleteNow, when he was alive, I would have been hard put to answer that question, I'm not sure Facebook has an "ex-wife" category. But now that he is dead?!? Ex-widow?!?
His current wife/widow took over his Facebook account, she is actually the one making the request. So what exactly is my family relationship to her? Has Facebook considered the fallout from modern family ties and how it plays out in the cyberworld?
So far I have not responded to the request, not from any animosity (I actually like her too), but simply because I have no idea what to respond.
I'm on Facebook but use it to lurk on younger family members with the occasional interaction.
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated by the comment left by Anne.
I must say knowing someone who exploits young economic sex slaves with no financial choice would turn me right off too as a friend!
ReplyDeleteCosmetic surgery is a personal choice and I would not condone anyone for being tempted. I'm sure I shall be tempted myself when the time comes, though of course they should be subtle about it and know when to stop.
As for slutty dressing and morally bankrupt behaviour, afraid I find that undignified/ugly at any age.
Facebook sucks. I only log into it about once a week.
ReplyDeleteTessa:
ReplyDeleteI'm on twitter but honestly don't see the point, my brain explodes with all the pointless updates. if you must, it's wisewebwoman.
XO
WWW
Anne:
ReplyDeleteOh you made me laugh so hard, the protocols of modern life and Facebook!
I, like you, wouldn't know how to deal with ex-es crawling around and requesting friendship!!
Ex-widow sounds like a book should be written about the situation.
Though when I'm around my ex I'm referred to as 'elder wife' so 'elder widow' sounds more dignified for you!!
XO
WWW
GM:
ReplyDeleteAh, a fellow stalker! More power to yer elbow!
XO
WWW
Laura:
ReplyDeleteShe's a very troubled soul and plastic surgery is addictive, no one in my circle has stopped at the eye-lift or chin tuck. It's akin to tattoos.
Give me a face with character any day.
XO
WWW
I spend so much time blogging that I can't imagine how I would ever do anything if I did Facebook and Twitter too. Sometime or other one must deal with the non-etherial world.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you 20, I devote any 'spare' time to reading books and knitting and writing.
ReplyDeleteI'm also easily distracted and would find either FB or TW probably highly addictive and self-defeating.
XO
WWW